Affect Dynamics

Day-to-day emotional experiences differ between individuals from different age groups. Adolescence, for example, is typically characterized by relatively more emotional turmoil and a relatively higher prevalence of negative emotionality than adulthood, and older adults typically report higher emotional well-being in their daily lives than younger adult age groups. Little, however, is known about the psychological mechanisms underlying these age differences. Furthermore, other aspects of affective experiences, such as their outward expression or cross-cultural differences, have rarely been investigated from a developmental perspective. Our first research emphasis on affect dynamics involves projects that address these open questions.

Affective Competencies

A second research emphasis on affective competencies investigates age-related differences in the abilities to understand and manage emotional aspects of life, such as the abilities to regulate one's own affective experiences or to understand affective experiences of other people. Evidence suggests that the ability to understand other people's affective expressions declines throughout adulthood. This evidence stems primarily from studies that have asked participants to interpret posed emotional expressions from younger or middle-aged, but not older, adults. One limitation of these studies is thus the absence of age fairness. Another concern is the lackof ecological validity as the task is different from affect-recognition demands in regular life. Several of our ongoing projects seek to overcome these limitations.